It is a decision that we were impatiently awaiting. After several days of Free Agency, the Kawhi Leonard case was not yet settled. And even if a contract extension of the superstar with the Clippers was widely expected, it still had to close the deal. It is now done. The Fun Guy stays well in Los Angeles!
Can Kawhi Leonard really leave the Clippers? The question deserved to be asked after the principal interested party had declined his player option to enter the free agent market. The question deserved to be asked after the episode of his injury in the Playoffs and the so-called differences between his camp and the medical staff of the Clips. According to rumors, Kawhi seemed ready to listen to the arguments of other franchises, even if the Clippers remained the favorite to extend their star. The expected scenario was finally confirmed this Friday evening, when we all already have our heads in the final of the Olympic Games tonight. According to the insider of Yahoo Sports Chris Haynes, Leonard has indeed decided to return to Los Angeles, his hometown. It’s good, Clippers fans can take their breath away, even if the details of this new deal are not yet known. If so, Kawhi will take a short contract and return to the Free Agency market in a short time. It is one possibility – among others – that we cannot exclude at the time of these lines, but we do not want to spoil the pleasure of the Angelino fans tonight. So we will especially remember the return of Leonard, arrived in 2019 at the Clips and decided to stay at home, at home. Logical we want to say, because we know how much the guy likes to evolve under the Los Angeles sun.
While waiting for the exact terms, see what is the amount of the contract and its duration, but Kawhi IS NOT MOVING CLIPPERS! https://t.co/En1q2bV1eW
– TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) August 6, 2021
This is obviously great news for the California franchise, which retains its best player and therefore remains among the heavyweights of the Western Conference. We are talking about a team that has gone to two small victories from a qualification for the 2021 NBA Finals, all without Kawhi, injured in the knee during the Playoffs. There, with the return of Leonard but also that of Reggie Jackson, Nicolas Batum and Serge Ibaka, coach Tyronn Lue keeps roughly the same group as this season and we will therefore have to continue to count on them in the landscape of the Wild Wild West. So obviously, a lot of things will depend on Kawhi Leonard’s state of health. Because we must not forget that he partially torn a ligament in his knee during the Playoffs and that he could miss a good part of next season. If little information has been given in relation to that, we already know that we will have to wait before seeing the Clippers in full on the floor. But today, the essential is elsewhere. Today, owner Steve Ballmer – who has invested heavily in the Kawhi Leonard / Paul George duo – can breathe and keep his NBA title dreams. And that’s the most important thing.
Kawhi Leonard has decided to stay at home in Los Angeles by extending to the Clippers. We suspected it but with Kawhi, it’s hard to be completely calm until it’s signed. Now the California franchise can have a quiet summer.
Source texte : Yahoo Sports
Very, very happy for the Clippers and Tyronn Lue who will be able to leave with the almost complete squad.
For many observers, and that can be understood, without Kawhi’s injury, the Clippers went to the final.
They believe in it and want to do it again in the years to come.
– TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) August 6, 2021
–
